In Between
by Stujet9rainshine
Summary: Nines had been working as an ER nurse in the trauma unit for around six years by the time 2035 rolled around. Now here he was having his whole life turned upside down by a singular android. A GV200 police android who acted as a glorified EMT to bridge a difficult gap between crime scenes and the ER. Now, here they were, falling in love and finding out what it means to be Deviant.
1. Chapter 1: This is a Nightmare

Nines was a professional. He'd been working in the Emergency Room trauma unit for around six years. And those years had brought on a lot of change, a whole lot more than anyone ever anticipated. Given no one had really expected androids to take off as much as they did. Cyberlife Androids have actively changed the face of the medical industry forever. They created perfect machines to take away excess human error in the field. Some androids were programmed the do things as complicated as surgery, but most of them were made for much simpler tasks, like phlebotomy. Or the whole nurse package, but with an infallible bedside manner and state-of-the-art scanners.

Nines was a nurse, not a doctor, not an EMT so he almost exclusively dealt with the nurse androids. At first, he was skeptical. He didn't want to be replaced, he'd worked too hard to get where he was. Not to mention, he wasn't even sure they could work on his level. But the nurse androids were all very sweet, docile, and were a fantastic help. They really helped in taking care of the less than pleasant tasks, like changing bedpans. Patients were much more cooperative with things like changing and using the damn bedpans when it was an android helping them. Because patients don't get as embarrassed around something they don't consider human. Nines rarely, if ever, found himself complaining about the android help. He even found himself enjoying his work far more after they had been properly implemented.

Now in 2035, most of the android business had been settled out. There was a decent staff of both humans and androids and Nines found that sufficient. So, it was quite a shock when he heard about the rumors that the hospital was getting a police android to join their ranks. Well, not necessary a police android, more of an EMT with a Detroit Police Department uniform. The new android was supposed to be a semi-specialized, prototype model designed for working as a patrol officer to get injured parties to the ER as quickly as possible. Nines had dismissed the rumors. They sounded like complete bullshit and Connor would have told him if something like that was in the works. That being said Nines never expected to meet this new android he'd heard about.

Then all at once, that denial went straight out the window. Nines was walking down the corridor fiddling with some charts when he heard a loud ruckus. He looked up from his clipboard towards the entrance to the ER and his jaw fell open. There, slamming through the hallway, was an android in a Detroit Police Department uniform cradling a bloody body in his arms. The designation on his chest denoted his model, GV200.

The android glanced around and then spotted Nines and started to charge towards him.

"What the hell are you waiting for!?" The GV200 android screamed at Nines.

After a moment's hesitation, Nines slammed into action. Grabbing the gurney closest to him and gesturing for the android to place the patient down. Which he did gently.

What the fuck? Nines thought briefly then shook his head, no time for that. He refocused his attention at the bleeding man they were now wheeling down the hallway. Gunshot wounds, Nines noted. A brief exam had him finding the entrance but not the exit wounds. He needed to get the patient to surgery. He shouted out some commands and then the fun began. His team was on the gurney in a minute and they began his prep for emergency surgery.

The procedure was routine, as gunshot wounds were in Detroit. Though having a police android padding after them from a distance as they worked was unnerving. He didn't have time to worry about with a patient that had pieces of metal lodged inside them. Nines decided he'd mention for the android to wait outside for all further operations. He scoffed, wondering if this was to be a reoccurring issue or just a strange one-time thing. One could never tell in this line of work. When every day brought something else crazy through those automated doors.

Nines finally decided to wash his hands of the whole thing as he left the operating room now that the patient was stable and resting. A job well done, but the urge to confront the android was leaking into his mind.

One thing at a time, Anderson. He thought harshly as he was making his way towards the break room. Hoping to grab a coffee before the next bloody operation.

"Richard Anderson, correct?" Came a crass voice from somewhere behind him.

Nines paused, rolling his eyes, he wasn't necessarily in the mood for someone to prevent him from getting his coffee. But he forced a smile and turned around to greet whoever had spoken to him. Nines was only mildly surprised to notice the bright blue LED on the temple of the other. A once-over confirmed that it was the GV200 that had brought in the gunshot victim.

"How can I help you?" Nines asked politely, his tone flat.

"I've been assigned to help transport patients from crime scenes to the ER and I have been assigned to report directly to you. Since you are one of the head nurses in your area and your counterpart refused involvement," The GV200 rattled off, looking like he had practiced this conversation before.

Great, Nines thought as he realized he was going to have to continuously deal with this strange android. Counterpart denied involvement, huh? He was going to give Carol a piece of his mind for pushing this off on him.

"Fantastic," Nines muttered, "My contact information should be available to you through the hospital's network. Try to give me some warning before you barge in like that next time. Oh, and please stay out of the rooms while we are working," Nines gave his own list of instructions. He was trying to end this conversation quickly.

"Affirmative," GV200's LED flashed yellow for a brief moment, "I have downloaded your contact information. I look forward to working with you and your team for the foreseeable future." And with that, the GV200 gave a sloppy salute and turned on his heel and was heading down the hallway.

Nines had no idea what to think of any of this mess but decided he could worry about it later. He glanced down at his watch and wondered if he had time to still grab that coffee. He turned on his heel decided that he did. He let out a sigh, androids were just a thing that he had to deal with now, just as much as everyone else.


	2. Chapter 2: 99 Red Balloons

The next several encounters they had together the GV200 had taken Nines' advice and called in beforehand and gave a brief report. These calls came in about five minutes before he would arrive with a patient in tow. The android always took the time and effort to stabilize the victims. It did good work and Nines quickly began to appreciate its efforts, just like he had with many of the other androids.

This became surprisingly routine over the next month or so. Though, for an android the GV200 was unpredictable. It was clumsy and messy in both its body language and an oddly foul mouth. The GV200 also looked completely different than most androids. It was around five foot six, which is a good bit below the average male height. Though being next to Nines very much exaggerated that shortness, given that Nines was all of six foot three.

On top of all that, for some godforsaken reason, this android had a layer of scruff on his chin. He looked rugged and rumpled in its appearance. Nines could almost swear up and down that Cyberlife took every movie detective ever and then smashed them into this one android.

It was very clear that GV200 wasn't like any other android Nines had had the pleasure of working with before. The GV200 presented Nines with a new set of challenges that he was more than happy to accept.

Nines himself was a little surprised at his own change in heart, but who could blame him. The GV200 model was endearing and not hard on the eyes. Though they really hadn't quite started to get along quite yet.

It was a Tuesday, almost two months after the GV200 had joined Nines' team when Nines received an oddly frantic call from the android. Nines knew things were going to be rough when the android arrived.

To no one's surprise, it was a rough case. The patient needed emergency surgery, several stab wounds, and other bloody spots. Nines was about to take over the scrambling team when Carol beat him to the punch and was shouting out commands. Nines knew he didn't need to be in the same operating room as Carol. Too many bodies in one room could be disastrous.

Now Nines was currently waiting in the hallway with the GV200. He turned to look at the scowling android, who was currently leaning against a wall. Nines looked the other and down and finally decided they needed to have a decent conversation. It's been almost two months and they were still walking on eggshells, and Nines was man enough to admit it was his own doing.

"So, what happened?" Nines finally asked the silent android. GV200 looked up and pushed himself off the wall and crossed his arms.

"Red Ice deal gone bad, several stab wounds and multiple blunt force trauma injuries," it rattled off, but almost looked disgusted with what he was staying. Nines sighed Red Ice was a major headache for him and every other ER personnel in the country. The shit was toxic, deadly, and made people violent. All the things Nines had to deal with after it all inevitably came to a head.

"I hate that shit. Makes my job more difficult than it needs to be. I wish people weren't stupid enough to mess with it," Nines vented. Hell, it's not like the android could tattle on him or anything.

"I agree," GV200 frowned heavily, "A large majority of the cases I have dealt with have some sort of relation to that stupid drug." It looked up to lock eyes with Nines.

Nines took pause as he noted those words very blunt and felt almost sincere. Huh. He found it endearing how much the android scowled. If it wasn't for the flashing yellow and blue LED and android uniform, Nines could have almost confused the other for a human. He felt his lips tug downward at the thought and quickly decided to change the course of the conversation.

"Maybe one day my brother will finish what he started and fully destroy the Red Ice industry," Nines mused. Connor had spent a good few of his early years at the DPD dealing with Red Ice trafficking. He even had some of the biggest breakthroughs in the industry. That was until he decided he wanted to pursue that promotion and went into homicide.

The GV200 looked thoughtful and it even looked like it chewed its bottom lip for a moment.

"May I ask who your brother is?" The GV200 inquired. Nines felt the question was out of place.

"Yeah, his name is Connor Anderson. Works at the DPD in Homicide," Nines prattled off. The thought finally occurring to him that the android may have seen his brother considering they both work out of the DPD.

"So, it was who I thought it was," GV200 said, tone thoughtful, "Your brother is far less pleasant to be around than you are."

Nines couldn't help the laugh that escaped him, he'd never heard that before in his life. Everyone enjoyed Connor's boisterous attitude and sharp wit. Not to mention, Connor looked a lot softer with his puppy brown eyes. Not to mention he'd actively been an asshole to this android.

GV200 looked very confused, "Did I say something wrong?"

"Oh, no. Almost everyone else thinks that Connor is the more pleasant one to be around. People say I'm too stoic," Nines said, reeling in his laughter in quickly as it came, but he couldn't keep the humor out of his tone. Honestly, it probably just sounded crass because the android still looked perplexed.

"Hm, I do not believe they know you very well," It smiled in Nines' direction, "You brother is far too rash for his own good and is very rude to anyone he is not close to. You, on the other hand, maybe very stoic but you are polite and have a calm air around you."

Nines didn't know when his mouth had fallen open but, here he was staring slack-jawed at an android who was praising him. It made his heart do a weird little jig in his chest.

"Thank you," was all Nines managed to say before Carol came out of the operating room loudly and frowning heavily. The interruption didn't hurt his feelings too much, because he'd run out of appropriate things to say to the android anyway.

GV200 looked started by the noise and whatever had made him relax disappeared, as it pulled itself tight like a bowstring. The android once again looked like the machine it was.

"It looks like she wants to speak with you, Nurse Anderson," The GV200 smiled again, "I need to be returning to precinct anyway. Have a nice day."

Nines returned the smile. He hummed thoughtfully, he was getting very fond of the android indeed.

"Call me Nines," He said and realized quickly what that implied. They were friends now.

"Okay. Goodbye, Nines," The android said, tone light as it tested out the new name with a soft smile, the mechanical parts seemed to slip away ever so slightly. Nines nodded his farewell and turned around to hear whatever it was that Carol had to say to him.


	3. Chapter 3: Proper Pronouns

About a week later, Nines was making himself a cup of coffee when the best idea ever hit him. GV200 had taken to calling him Nines quite well. He really wanted to give GV200 a nickname. Nicknames were a mark of friendship and Nines really fucking hated calling GV200, well… GV200. It felt far too plastic for someone with so much personality. Someone Nines apparently cared about. He should absolutely give him a nickname, now the question was what name would fit the android. He pondered around a few names. _Gordon? Vinnie? Gabe?_

"Gavin!" Nines exclaimed out loud in the middle of the breakroom. He wasn't _that_ loud about it, but everyone around him was startled nonetheless. He rarely, if ever, spoke above a polite inside voice. "Sorry," he said sheepishly, but that didn't stop his excitement. Nines couldn't wait to hear what he had to say about it.

When Nines was leaving the breakroom black coffee in tow, he had to take pause. When had he started to refer to the android by, " _he"?_ Nines couldn't exactly recall, but it felt far more natural than using "it." Nines found that he quite preferred the new pronoun. Androids deserved the proper pronouns just as much as the next person. So, at that moment Nines decided he would never again refer to androids as " _its."_

People noticed. Of course, they did. Most of them just looked confused for a moment as they deciphered who Nines was talking about or to. Some even gave him dirty looks for it. But Nines couldn't bring himself to care, because the androids on his team took notice too. Their small, pleased smiles they gave him when he used correct pronouns made it all worth it.

"Richard?" Nines would recognize that annoyingly squeaky voice anywhere, it was Dr. Mike Logan, one of the surgeons.

 _Great,_ Nines thought to himself. Dr. Logan was a terrible gossip and loved to talk about any and everything. Nines didn't care for gossip much, but he knew he needed to maintain a good working relationship with the older doctor.

"Hello, Dr. Logan. What do I owe the pleasure?" Nines voice was smooth and anyone who didn't know him well would mistake for something genuinely pleasant.

"Ah, nothing much, just had a question for you," Mike said, returning the smile.

"Ask away." Nines briefly looked down at his clipboard to see how much time he actually had for this conversation. A few minutes at least. _Damnit,_ he was hoping to get out of this.

Mike looked to one of the android nurses walking into a room to check on a patient and frowned. When he looked back at Nines his face was far more serious than it had been just moments ago.

"Why are you so nice to the androids?" Nines was taken aback and just stared at the surgeon. Who took it as a need for clarification, "I mean, you treat them like people and honestly it's kind of weird and uncomfortable for some people myself included."

Nines audibly sighed and flipped a paper on his clipboard for emphasis. He did not have the patience for this conversation. When he finally responded his tone was harsher than he ever tried to use at the workplace, "Dr. Logan. I'm sorry my treating the androids as more than mere pieces of plastic makes you uncomfortable, but frankly, I do not give a shit about your opinion on the matter. Now just so you know I will continue to do as I please."  
 _  
_" _Woah,_ calm down," Mike put his hands up in surrender. He was clearly not expecting Nines to react that way. "I was just saying it was weird."

"Well, maybe you should try it out sometime. The androids are quite pleasant to be around if you treat at least halfway decently," Nines made sure his tone left no room for further discussion, "Now if you'll excuse me. I have work to do." With that, he spun around on his heels leaving Mike in the dust. He smiled to himself, he felt good after doing that. Maybe Mike would take his advice, doubtful, but whatever. He'd proven his point.


	4. Chapter 4: First

The next time GV200 called in with a patient in transit. Nines couldn't help being excited, it had been a good few days since he was last here and now Nines had the chance to see if he liked the name, Gavin. Though he knew better than to let the excitement affect his judgment, there was a life potentially hanging in the balance.

"Nines!" GV200 called from somewhere behind him. He was here faster than normal. Nines turned around to see the android with a child cradled in his arms.

A bleeding and broken child. Nines' instincts kicked in as he quickly beckoned the android to follow him. Nines quickly got a team together as they got the child into a room. Her vitals were weak and she still needed to be stabilized. Nines briefly wondered why GV200 hadn't done that yet. Though it took his team just a few minutes. She needed blood. One of his nurses tested it and was quickly able to identify her blood type and placed an order. God, Nines loved androids.

The work on her was scary and grueling as children injured in this way normally were. Several broken bones and a severe head injury were the worst injuries she sustained. After about an hour Nines was leaving the room. She was stable and in a medically induced coma to slow the swelling in her brain. She was still in danger, but he and his team had done all they could for the moment. Nines went looking for his android, he needed to know what had happened.

Nines thought what he had seen in that room was the most shocking thing he'd see that day. Until he found GV200 at the back of the hospital, covered in blood. Sitting, head tucked between his legs, LED flashing between yellow and red. Nines didn't say anything as he crouched next to the android.

"Nines?" His voice seemed rougher than normal.

"Yeah?" Nines asked, his tone uncertain. He'd never seen the android like this before.

"Is she going to be okay?" GV200's voice was raw with what sounded like anguish. His scowl pulled down further than normal.

"I'm not sure yet, but she's still fighting. We'll know more about her condition over the course of the next 24 hours," Nines prattled off in his nurse voice. Flat, but comforting.

"Okay," the android looked Nines directly in his eyes, and they looked red. Had he been crying? Then he looked away before he spoke again, "She was trying to kill herself. I got a report of a potential jumper and they wanted me to respond first since I was the closest. I didn't get there fast enough to talk her down. I watched her jump. I wasn't fast enough to break her fall," He had to pause to take a deep breath, Nines could hear his insides whirling, "I ran up to her fearing the worst but she was still breathing and I knew I had to save her and I called you and brought her straight to you, because if anyone could save her it would by you. And I was right because she is still alive. Thank you for that."

Nines had to hold back emotions, suicide was something that hit pretty close to home. It was one thing this job could never dull the roughness. Something that every time he saw, he had to hold back tears.

"You're welcome. Let's get you cleaned up. What time do you have to be back at the precinct?" Nines asked as he stood them both up. He needed to take care of his android.

"Not for a while, I just need to finish my reports and respond as called for," GV200 rattled off, his red LED settling to a steady yellow.

"Okay, give me a minute," Nines pulled out his cell phone and dialed the receptionist, "Hey Julie, It's Richard. Do you think I could leave for a few hours? I have something important I need to deal with."

"Oh, okay. Wow," Julie really sounded at a loss, "Yeah, I don't see why not, you're always the one working the extra shifts anyway. I'll just change you to on call, okay?"

"That's fine. Be back later tonight." He hung up on her and turned his attention back to the shaking police android. "Hey, let's head out to my car. I don't live far away. We can get you cleaned up there." GV200 nodded and followed as Nines started to lead him away from the hospital and to his car.

The ride was short, and they were both sat in a comfortable silence. When they finally pulled into Nines' apartment complex, he guided his android discreetly to his flat.

Once they were inside Nines let out a breath that he hadn't known he was holding. He briefly leaned against the door and thought about what in the ever-living fuck he was doing. He sighed once more and pushed himself from the door frame, resolve coursing through his veins.

"Okay, I need you to take your clothes off and for you to take a shower, so I can get the blood out of these. I'll give you some of my clothes until they're clean, okay?" Nines said to the android who was currently bouncing nervously from foot to foot but promptly stopped at Nines' words.

The GV200's eyes widened and he glanced down towards himself and seemed to realize for the first time the amount of blood that was coving him.

"Sounds good, Nines." He responded quietly. Then he started to take his shirt off right there in the living room.

Nines went slack-jawed as he was unsure of how to respond to that. Nines noticed woefully that underneath the android's Cyberlife issued police jacket was a white undershirt. Nines felt heat rise to his cheeks because even though he couldn't see the android's chest did not mean he could see his burly arms and other previously hidden patches of synthetic skin.

The GV200 stood there scowling, with blood lightly splattered on his face and a white tank top, looked like a back-alley street fighter. His small stocky stature would make even a man of Nines' size tremble. Though most men would be trembling for a completely different reason than why Nines was trembling at that very moment.

"Are you okay? Your heart rate and breathing have accelerated considerably? You even seem to be shaking ever so slightly?" Gavin asked, pausing in his strip show.

Fuck. Nines thought quickly as he shook himself out of his wandering thoughts.

"Uh, I just…" Nines had tried to clear his throat, the roughness was surprising to even his own ears, "Can you… Uh, I need you to finish undressing in the bathroom, please?"

GV200 raised his eyebrow knowingly as Nines pulled his face into a helpless smile and pointed towards the bathroom. God, when the hell had things taking this route?

"Sure, I can do that," The android shot him backwards smile as he headed the direction Nines was pointing.

Nines followed, making sure he made it and he took a right to his bedroom and began a search for some of his smaller clothing. His search turned up successful after a few minutes of him digging in the very back of his closet. Nines frowned at the long-sleeved turtleneck he found. It was too small for him to fit in now. Hell, he probably hadn't been able to fit in this shirt for at least a good few years. Though it was still going to dwarf the smaller man. Well, this was going to the best he could find. On his way out of his closet, he grabbed a pair of adjustable sweatpants.

When Nines was standing outside the bathroom he made sure to wait a few minutes listening to the water running before he got the nerve to open the door.

"Hey, I'm coming in to grab the rest of your clothes, and I'm going to leave some clean ones on the counter," Nines hollered, as he screwed his eyes shut for a brief moment.

"Yeah, you're good," the android's voice was softened by the spray of the shower.

Nines finally opened his eyes and quickly gathered up the clothes, even though he knew the android was behind a closed curtain he kept his eyes towards the floor. Oh, boy. Nines kept forgetting how much he liked how his android looked. He managed to get in and out without incident.

Nines was clutching the bloody clothes in his hands, willing his heart to calm down. Holy shit, having the android with him outside the hospital made him really, truly aware of how much he really fucking liked him.

Nines sighed, he had known he had a small crush on the attractive android for a hot minute.

But now that he was seeing such an emotional side from the cute android it was almost too much for his heart to handle. All Nines wanted to do now was protect him and keep the android from ever feeling bad again.

What a wild concept, an android capable of feeling things. If you told Nines that was possible just a couple of months ago, he would have laughed at the absurdity of the statement. But here he was, pining after an android he was pretty sure he almost caught crying.

With one more shake of his head, Nines willed his legs to take him the laundry room. Cleaning blood from clothes was just a skill you got when you worked in the medical industry. So, getting these uniforms clean wasn't a problem. Just took a little elbow grease and a couple of chemicals.

When the Cyberlife uniforms were in the wash and most of the blood was removed, Nines decided to hang out in the living room. Unsure of what else to do with himself he just sat on the couch, his hands clasped together staring at them like they could give him all the answers he needed.

It was only a few minutes later when GV200 finally exited the bathroom. Nines was not prepared for what was awaiting him. GV200's hair was messier than usual, and him wearing Nines' too big clothes made his knees weak. Nines couldn't help but stare at the gorgeous man standing on the threshold.

"It feels weird to be out of my Cyberlife uniform," GV200 waved his arms around for emphasis. It was ridiculous watching him because the sleeves went past his hands, "But I find I like it."

Nines was going to die, this was not something his poor heart was equipped to handle. He cleared his throat before he even dared to speak, "Well, you look nice," Nines gestured for him to join him on the couch, "Your clothes are in the wash, should be around an hour and a half before they're done."

"That's good," GV00 smile was so genuine Nines forgot how to breathe, "You know you didn't have to do all this for me. I could have easily have gone back to DPD and been taken care of there." But he sat down anyway, flopping full force.

"Yeah, I'm aware, but I wanted to do this for you."

GV200 stared at him in disbelief, "I don't get you Nines. You almost treat me like I'm a human though it is quite obvious I am not. Why's that?" The android did not look upset, just curious and Nines couldn't find it in his heart to lie.

"Because I like you and honestly you act more human than most of the people I deal with," Nines replied nonchalantly.

"Oh." He seemed at a loss for words, deciding to look away from Nines and to stare at the wall covered in Nines' photo collection.

Nines took the opportunity to ask the question that had been burning in him for the last few days, "Do you have a name?"

The other turned back towards Nines' and raised his eyebrow, clearly surprised by the question, "No, I don't have one registered."

"Well, I think you deserve one," Nines stated, and he could have sworn he seen a blue tint grace the other's cheeks.

"You don't say? Have anything in mind?" The android's voice could easily be interpreted as shy.

"How do you feel about the name, 'Gavin'?" Nines knew for sure that his android's face was blue. What a lovely blush. Who knew that androids could blush like that and Nines decided he absolutely fucking adored it.

"I… I love it," He paused, "Gavin. Gavin name registered." Gavin ran his hand along his face in an attempt to hide his ever-growing blush.

Nines knew from here on out he was going to do everything in his power to keep that color on his face.

"I'm glad," Nines smiled at Gavin and wondered what in his life had led him to this. Crushing on an android of all things. He knew in his heart how this would play out, like a tragedy. There was no way this was going to end well. It was impossible, but fuck did he want to indulge it while it was here.

Nines' chest tightened a bit, that seemed to be a running theme in his life. Him trying to hold onto things longer than he was meant to. Hell, he did that so much it's what led him to want to work in an emergency room. He touched his neck, feeling a phantom pain lingering there. He was still here and that meant enough to him.

Nines decided to see what fuck could happen if he put himself out there. He wanted to see how long this could last. So, he swung his body around, laid his head on Gavin's lap, and closed his eyes. Gavin was warm, a little cooler than a human body, but oh was it perfect.

Nines noted that Gavin had a heartbeat, sort of. His thirium pump made soft pulsing noises and Nines just decided he was going to listen to that and the soft whirring sounds and the other noises that Gavin's biocomponents were making. They stayed like that for several minutes. Nines decided that he hadn't felt this content in a while.

"Nines?" Gavin finally asked breaking the comfortable silence. Nines opened his eyes and seen that Gavin had his signature scowl on, but the effect was ruined by a dark blue blush. Nines braced himself for whatever what was going to come out of the android's mouth.

"Hm?" Nines smiled softly up at the android and Gavin noticed. Gavin looked really mixed and he tried to return the smile. Gavin sighed sounding... annoyed?

"Areyoutryingtocourtme?" Gavin said all in one breath.

Nines was not expecting that. But why should he lie? That just wasn't his style. He sat up and leaned in close locking his blue eyes with Gavin's brown ones. Gavin's eyes were wide and his mouth parted slightly. Nines had to activity stop himself from closing that distance and seeing just how much of Gavin could be tinted that lovely blue.

"I guess I am," Nines whispered, his voice soft like silk. He smiled softly and waited for a reaction.

He got one, and Nines was more than pleased to note that Gavin's blush was spreading to his neck and ears.

"Why?" Gavin said in a small, breathy voice.

Nines felt so much pull towards the android, he could have sworn they were opposite ends of magnets. He shrugged and leaned even closer to Gavin, their faces only inches apart now, causing Gavin's LED to briefly flash yellow.

"I honestly don't know, but damn do I have feelings for you," Nines whispered, "How about you? What do you feel?"

"I, uh, I feel, I…" Gavin sputtered and swallowed before he continued, Gavin's LED was now flashing between red and yellow, "I'm not supposed to be able to feel anything! I'm not supposed to want anything!" He looked panicked, his eyes darting randomly across Nines' face.

Nines' smile fell from his face, he was expecting something like that. It still hurt nonetheless. Though he wasn't even sure what those words had truly meant. Not supposed to feel anything? That meant he was feeling something, but what?

"That's not what I asked," Nines needed to try to dig deeper, he knew there was more to Gavin than his programming, there had to be, "How does Gavin feel in this moment?"

"I... I feel phcking something and it's been giving me a lot of errors messages," Gavin scratched the back of his neck, such a human motion. "My software is phcked up because of you, but I think I like it."

Neither of them said anything for a few moments and the moment was shattered by the sound of the washer beeping loudly. Nines smiled apologetically as he pulled himself up from the couch. Gavin looked lost for a moment as his eyes watched Nines' walk away.

Nines quickly switched over the laundry, satisfied with the fact that a vast majority of the blood had come out. When the dryer was running, he headed back to the living room.

Ah, she had finally decided to show her face. Lilith, his little black cat, was sniffing the hand of a curious Gavin. Nines couldn't help but smile as she accepted the android and he began to pet her. Nines heart skipped a beat at pure happiness that overtook Gavin when Lilith decided he was worthy and jumped up onto the couch and cuddled with him.

"Well, good on you to come out of hiding," Nines mocked softly as he joined the pair on the couch.

"Who is this?" Gavin asked as he continued to pet the purring flirt.

"This is Lilith, she keeps me company," Nines answered.

"She's sweet, I like her," Gavin's smile became impossibly softer.

Nines smiled, leaning against Gavin and joined him in petting his cat. Her purring turned up immediately not used to having this much attention.

This was Nines' version of heaven, a nice man to cuddle with that his cat approved of. He really wanted to see what made Gavin tick. What made him so different? What made it to where he could blush that pretty shade blue? But this wasn't the time and it may never be.

"Nines?" Gavin broke the silence, again, after a while.

"Yes, Gavin?"

"Can I keep this shirt?" Gavin asked, his tone shy, while he was fidgeting with the hem.

Nines couldn't bring himself to say no, not to mention he couldn't wear that shirt if you paid him to.

"Of course, I don't see why not."

"Thank you," Gavin tried to hide his smile as he went back to petting Lilith.

They stayed like that, leaning on each other petting a purring feline until the dryer screamed signaling it had completed its cycle. Nines stood up and beckoned for Gavin to follow.

Gavin stood up slowly allowing Lilith a moment to complain before she jumped off the couch padded towards where her food was. Nines smiled at the display and when Gavin was at his side he walked towards the back of the flat.

Nines pulled out the clean clothes and handed them to the smaller man. Who smiled as he turned to walk towards the bathroom to change. When he came back, he smiled as he handed Nines his white undershirt.

"You can keep this. but only in exchange for your shirt, which you've given me already, so you can just have it I guess," Gavin rambled. Nines noted he could see that Gavin was wearing his shirt under his Cyberlife uniform, if only barely. He could see the black fabric peeking over the color of his shirt and at the ends of his sleeves. Nines came to the conclusion that he was going to die at the hands of this gorgeous, sweet android.

Nines' smile was impossibly wide as he nodded and accepted the shirt that Gavin had offered him. He clutched the surprisingly soft fabric in his hands. Looking at the shirt, he knew he had no chance of ever fitting the shirt over his wide chest so, he knew this shirt had a future as a pillowcase.

"Thank you," Nines whispered, his voice thick with an emotion he couldn't quite place.

"You know you really didn't have to do any of this for me," Gavin said, his tone hushed.

"Yeah, I know. But I did anyway, and I'm really happy I have," Nines had to pause to keep his voice from shaking before he could continue, "I'm going to protect you, Gavin, because I really want to."

Gavin's beautiful blue blush returned, and his eyes glossed over with something Nines couldn't name.

"Okay, I'll protect you too," Gavin spoke finally, his voice filled with determination. Then looked over Nines' shoulder, "And Lilith, I like her, too."

Nines knew what that meant, and it made his heart soar. Here he was falling head over heels for an android, who was starting to return his feelings. Fuck, this had to be illegal somehow. But Nines couldn't bring himself to care if he ended up in jail Connor and Conrad would get him out. The price being a handful of choice words, but they would get him out nonetheless.

Gavin's LED flickered yellowed, the blank look overtook Gavin as he blinked rapidly for a moment.

"There is a crime scene I must respond to and it is probably about time for you to go back to the ER," Gavin said, sounding more like an android than he had in a long time.

The change knocked Nines for a loop. His Gavin was replaced almost in an instant by the GV200 Police android. Though, he didn't have a chance to dwell on that too much it was time for action. There was a possibility of lives being on the line.

"Okay, I'll take you to the scene and we can go back to the hospital together," Nines was already gathering his stuff to go, he was happy he hadn't even bothered to change out of his scrubs, "You have a vehicle at the hospital, correct?"

"Yes, it's a semi-autonomous DPD vehicle, but it could be considered mine." Gavin replied, and with that they were on the road. Gavin had insisted on driving and Nines was calmly riding in the passenger seat. Gavin was an extremely efficient and effective driver. Something he could appreciate, considering the amount of times he's ridden with an overzealous Connor or Conrad for that matter. Though, Nines couldn't say too much, considering it was them who taught him how to drive in the first place.

They were at the scene in around seven minutes and it was messy, but that didn't bother Nines a bit. He's seen far, far worse. Gavin told Nines to head to the hospital because there was an ambulance on the scene that Gavin was going to take back with the patient. Nines compiled but didn't get a chance to see Gavin for a few days after that. Things like that happen, nature of the work and all that.


	5. Chapter 5: Tea Time

Nines was enjoying his day off, thankfully they didn't take anything away from his time off, with him skipping on the hospital a few days ago. Though, the extra hours he put in more than made up for that. He worked way too much, but he wasn't the only one.

"Sorry, I'm late! I stayed at the precinct too long working on this new case I'm this close to cracking," Connor mumbled quickly, making a gesture with his hand to indicate just how close. Then he threw himself down into the chair across from Nines.

Nines rolled his eyes, this was customary. Connor was rarely, if ever, on time to anything besides work. And the only reason he was on time to work was that more often than not he simply didn't go home. "Hey, Con. Don't sweat it," Nines smiled as he handed a menu to his older brother.

"I will. Anyways," Connor beamed, smiling that smile that only seemed to show up for his brothers. It was good enough to fool most people that the other was okay, but it didn't fool Nines. Connor still had dark bags under his eyes and still hadn't put on a healthy amount of weight. But he was still alive and that had to count for something at this point. Honestly, it was a fucking miracle that any of the Anderson boys were still alive.

"New case you say?" Nines asked over the rim of the menu.

Connor groaned, but he was grinning like a madman.

"Yeah, easy one, just need to gather the last few pieces of evidence to get the prosecution on my side. It was a homicide, multiple victims, a whole family in fact. Really need to get the motherfucker behind bars who did it."

"Gruesome," Nines commented as he continued to scan over his menu.

"What about you, Ninety-Nines? You looked different than normal," Connor muttered glancing across the table a suspicious eyebrow raised.

"I have changed nothing about my physical appearance," Nines returned the look, adjusting his dark purple glasses for emphasis.

"No. You complete dipshit," Connor rolled his eyes, "Like you looked more relaxed, I don't know, like something good is happening in your life." Connor turned his hands over, his voice laced with a soft disbelief.

Nines sighed, the thing that sucked about both of his brothers being detectives was that he couldn't hide anything from them, but that didn't mean he wasn't going to try. Nines had opened his mouth to argue but Connor bounced in his seat.

"Oh! So, I'm right?" Connor exclaimed pointing at his younger brother.

"Maybe, it's frankly nothing important," Nines tried to play it off.

Connor was not falling for it, instead, his eyes flashed dangerously.

Fuck, goddammit. Nines thought panicked and Connor han seen right through him like he always fucking does.

"Oh my god, this is serious!" Connor heckled, "You're fucking someone aren't you?" Connor's smiled turned devilish, "Or are you the one being fucked?"

Nines felt his eyes widen and his face turned bright red. His mouth fell open for a moment before he could even collect himself enough to speak.

"Excuse me?" Nines squeaked, his normally collected voice had gone out the fucking window.

Connor was pointing at him again, grinning like the moron he was.

"Holy fucking shit! You absolutely have to tell me everything!" Connor was flapping his hands now, clearly pleased.

"There is nothing to tell," Nines insisted trying to reign in his voice.

Connor groaned clearly not believing him, "Come on… I know you're at least interested in someone," He gave Nines his goddamned puppy eyes and Nines finally caved knowing he was fighting a losing battle anyway.

"Fucking fine," Nines ran a hand through his hair, "There's this guy I have a big, fucking gay crush on. Is that what you want to hear?"

"Yes!" Connor's smile overtook his face and he leaned on his elbows on the table clearly waiting for more details.

Nines was happy that his stupid brother was happy even if the little shithead was teasing the fuck out of him. He smiled and rolled his eyes, glad something as simple as a crush made Connor so happy. Though Nines felt silly thinking about the stew of feelings he had for Gavin as something as simple as a crush.

"Tell me about this guy who has swept my unmoving little brother off his feet," Connor said, pushing again for more details.

Nines felt his stomach drop. What was he supposed to say, 'Oh his name is Gavin he's great and totally a fucking android that we both work with.' Not happening. But Connor wouldn't be satisfied without details and Nines knew that meant he would go digging and all hell would break loose. Well, he could twist the truth.

"Well, his name is Gavin," Nines started, "He's an EMT and is really sweet, but he's also pretty rough around the edges, but I like that about him. I'm looking forward to where this could lead."

"Nice! I'm hoping for the best!"

"Me too, Lilith approves so it can't go too wrong," Nines answered nonchalantly, failing to catch the implication of what he just said until it was too late.

Connor slapped his hands down on the table, Nines jumped slightly and raised his pierced eyebrow.

"He's been to your house and you're telling me you guys aren't fucking?"

"Listen, you know I'm a wine and dine kind of man, the sheer fact that you're insinuating differently offends me," Nines tried to put some bite in his tone, but it fell flat.

"Be offended," Connor rolled his eyes, "You just need to get that dick already."

Nines was going to attempt to make a rebuttal, but the waitress took that exact moment to walk up to the table. She smiled, but the slight blush on her face gave away the fact that she overheard at least part of their conversation.

"What can I get for you, gentlemen?" She asked sweetly. Connor spoke first.

"I'll take a large peppermint mocha, and whatever dessert you guys have on special today," Connor rattled off.

Nines sighed, taking a wild guess this was going to be the first thing his brother had eaten in a while. But, he wasn't going to stop him. The medical lectures he'd given Connor had done nothing but make them fight. At least he was going to eat something.

"Well, today's special is a chocolate swirl roll with assorted fruits, does that still sound good?" She smiled down at Connor as she chewed on the end of her pen.

"Perfect." She grinned and pulled the pen from her mouth and wrote the order down.

"And what about you?" She asked Nines briefly pointing the pen toward him.

"I will have a cold brew, black, and a chocolate chip muffin," Nines ordered, so much blander than his eccentric brother.

"Okay, I'll have that right out," She grinned as she walked away from the table.

"So, since I'm clearly not going to get any more out of you about this 'Gavin,' how's work?" The rest of their conversation was casual catching up and the sorts.

Nines was glad Connor was doing well for the most part. He worried about him too much, but it wasn't unwarranted, not since Nines had to save the life of his own brother more than once. Always fearing the day, he wouldn't get Connor's daily message and he would go to his brother's house and find him dead on the fucking floor.

They were leaving the café when Nines remembered the odd question he wanted to ask Connor. "Hey, Con?"

"Yeah?"

"How often do people get in trouble for fixing old androids?" Nines tried asking casually, which he was something he was very good at.

"Not often, not something we worry about much unless there is a stolen android or something crazy like we think it has something to do with Red Ice. Why?"

"I was just curious, some interesting hospital nonsense," Nines gave Connor a sideways smile. If it took place in the ER Connor couldn't ask about it and Nines knew he hated that.

"Those damn hospitals, sometimes I wish I could hear what those walls have to say," Connor mused.

"Nothing good, I promise," Nines smiled as he grabbed his shorter brother into a side hug, pulling him over in the process, "Well, I have things to do, I'm not off enough to get everything I need to get done."

"Yeah, yeah," Connor returned the hug after he righted himself, "See you next one?"

"Always, as long as you can make it," Nines waved his way off, hoping once again that it won't be the last time he sees him.


	6. Chapter 6: Windy Blues

Nines was on a mission. Which had led him into a situation he never expected. Searching for a black-market android parts dealer. He was not one to break laws, not anymore at least. But this time he was making an exception. He made a promise to Gavin and he fully intended to keep it.

This part of town was a little seedy, but no one in their right mind was going to fuck with him. He was a broad-shouldered man who was clearly all of six foot and then some with a stone-cold stare and a take no shit attitude. If it wasn't for his dressy casual clothes, he would have fit right in. That wasn't a skill you easily forgot.

Nines steeled his nerves. He was going in to learn a few basic processes, grab some supplies, and get out. He really hoped the information he had managed to uncover wasn't completely bogus. He was heading to a shop by the name of Windy Blues.

When Nines stopped in front of a warmly decorated building. He had to stop and double check the address he had stashed away in his trench coat pocket. This was the right place. Windy Blues was a decently nondescript building, It looked like any other hipster themed coffee shop, except for the blue highlights among the warm browns. He shook his head and stowed the paper as he decided it was now or never. Worst-case scenario he just bought an overpriced cup of coffee.

Nines walked through the door the cute little jingle startled him. The shop was just as quaint on the inside. A quick glance around confirmed that the shop was well maintained. Oddly enough, there was no one inside but a small strawberry blonde barista. Though that was to be expected at this time of the day, it was after the morning and lunch rushes had already bought their caffeine fix.

"Hello, how can I help you today?" The barista poked her head up from behind the counter. Nines couldn't help the striking sense of familiarity she gave him. It was unsettling because it was not a good recognition. He shook his head and pulled out his notes briefly and peeked at the scribbles.

"I'm looking for the 310 special. I'm feeling a little blue?" Nines tone came out a little jumbled, the words strange on his tongue.

The girl's eyes immediately looked impossibly softer, "Oh my. I just expected you to order coffee. You don't look like the kind of guy who usually asks for that," She was still smiling as walked from behind the counter.

That comment unsettled Nines, "Well, I'm more so asking for a friend," Nines said, trying to cover his ass in case he had fucked this up already.

"Ah, I figured as much considering you're a human," She chuckled, "Follow me, please."

Nines slowly followed the small woman. There were only so many things that could go wrong. Was she an android? She got to the back and opened a door that looked like it led to a storeroom. Why was she so familiar to him?

"Wendy? Who are you bringing back here?" Came another voice from the backroom.

"Someone looking to get the 310 special," Wendy responded cutely, she was clearly very close to the owner of the other voice.

"Oh, okay. Bring them back here then." Wendy smiled at Nines and gestured towards for him to follow her into that back room.

Nines did as he was told, quickly calculating the fastest way to get out if the need arose. As soon as Nines crossed the threshold he knew he was in the right place. There were android biocomponents and blue blood lining the walls. He didn't have much time to observe, because the owner of the other voice appeared. Nines knew she was an android immediately given the flashing yellow-blue LED on her temple.

She did not look pleased when she noticed Nines, "You're not an android?"

"No, I'm not?" Nines wasn't sure how to proceed.

What the fuck had he just ordered? What the fuck did that code mean? 310 special. Feeling blue. Nines mentally slapped himself. Thirium, he just ordered Thirium. Clever.

"How the hell do you know about us if you're a human without an android?" The android glanced in the other girl's direction, "Wendy, what the fuck?" The other just shrugged, clearly unapologetic.

"Well, if it makes you feel any better it's for my android?" Nines was quickly trying to take the others suspension away from him.

"Well, Lucky. He's not the first human to come here alone and we all know the others were trustworthy," Wendy supplied before Lucky could respond to Nines.

"Ugh, fine. What are you looking for and why can't you get in a Cyberlife store?" Lucky asked as she went back inside the storeroom. Clearly expecting the others to follow.

Nines passed the threshold and Wendy closed the door behind them. He felt his blood pressure spike. Hopefully, this did not end with him getting murdered.

"I'm taking care of an android who is technically not mine and I also have a strong desire to learn how to fix them," Nines supplied trying to keep the information to a minimum. He wasn't even sure what he and Gavin were just yet. Sure, Nines was pretty sure he was falling in love with the android, but as for how Gavin was feeling about them. Nines had very little to go off of.

"Ah, so wanting to become an android doctor? For-profit? Or…?" Lucky mused as she picked up a clipboard.

"Well, I'm an ER nurse already and I'm quite fond of androids and don't like seeing them hurt and if they don't get fixed they get replaced or destroyed and I frankly don't like it," Nines couldn't help the bitter tone that leaked into his voice. He was also surprised by how true those words were.

"So, you're doing this out of the goodness of your heart?" Lucky did not seem convinced.

"I guess you could say that," Nines felt oddly patronized.

Wendy was bouncing around checking on things, but her gaze was shifting between the two of them quite frequently. She was clearly only trying to look busy as an excuse to eavesdrop.

Nines was also started glancing between the two of the women. Where the hell did he know Wendy from? The thought was driving him up the wall by this point.

"You are not telling me the full truth," Lucky said as she passed her clipboard towards Wendy. Who smiled brightly as she took it.

Nines coughed, clearly showing his distaste in her callout, "Excuse me?"

"You can't hide the truth from me, I'm a KL900 model. I was literally invented to predict the future and human behavior, just get out with it," Lucky had cocked her hip out placing a hand on it. Sass was basically dripping off of her.

Nines was blown away by how human Lucky was acting. He'd never seen anything like it. If it wasn't for the LED Nines would have literally no clue that she was an android. Wendy, on the other hand, he literally had no idea if she was human or android. Still, he had no idea how to respond to Lucky. Should he just tell her about Gavin?

"How much of the truth do you require for you to teach me about how to fix androids?" Nines frowned, he at least learned some negotiating skills from Conrad. Well, he never said he was good at negotiating.

Lucky rolled her eyes, "Why did you start to care about androids? Because you do actually care," Lucky rebutted.

"Fine," Nines muttered, "I'm in love with an android."

Wendy squealed, and Lucky's eyes widened. Their reaction was two opposite types of shock. Lucky's was an open mouth disbelief and Wendy's was a soft-eyed surprise.

"Oh," Lucky pursed her lips in understanding, "That'll do it. How lovely. What do they do?"

"Gavin is a specialized EMT, but he's a police model," Nines said, a hint of pride leaking into his tone.

"Ah, what model is he?"

"He's a GV200. I think his complete model number is 872 124 814 – 32," Nines rattled off.

Lucky pursed her lips, "That's a custom model line. Someone made him to be unique, interesting."

"Are you going to help me or not?" Nines' tone was dry. Patience was never one of his strong suits.

"Yeah, fuck. You know for a nurse you sure are rude," Lucky rolled her eyes, but then she led him further into the room.

"To be fair, I'm not working right now," Nines remarked, his tone bordering between sarcastic and playful.

"Well, you're about to be. Put on some gloves," Lucky pointed towards a wall where the more human medical supplies were located, "Oh, I've never even asked your name," Lucky's face lightly tinted blue. So, it was an android thing, not just Gavin. How nice.

"My name is Richard, but you can call me Nines," He grinned as he reached out to shake her hand.

"Nice to meet you Nines. Now let's see how well you can handle blue blood!" Lucky said snapping the gloves on for emphasis.

Nines was quickly pulled into working on repairing spare limbs and fixing other miscellaneous biocomponents. He couldn't help but notice how eerily similar working on androids was to working on humans. But it made the learning process easier.

"So, Lucky," Nines asked after they finished repairing a damaged arm component, "Pardon my bluntness, but how do you act so, for lack of a better word, human?"

Lucky hummed as she pulled a damaged leg down from the racking.

"Well, I'm honestly surprised you don't know," Lucky mused as she put the leg on the table.

"I'm still new to this," Nines shrugged. Unsure of what she was trying to imply

"I understand," She opened a panel on the leg to expose some damaged wires. Then she started talking, "I'm what you call a Deviant. An android who has broken their own programming. It's happened to a few of us. After we actively make a choice that contradicts directly with our programming we gain the ability to feel emotions and think for ourselves. Completely disregarding our original purpose and gain the ability to have emotions and variations thereof."

"That's amazing. I knew there was more to androids than meets the eye," Nines said as he reached into the arm panel to fix the misconnections.

"Is your Gavin a deviant?"

"I don't know," Nines scrunched his eyebrows together, "Sometimes his eyes sparkle with something more and other times they just seem empty."

"He probably hasn't deviated yet. There is usually a process to the whole thing. It's not normally a random occurrence," Lucky mused.

"That's good to know. I was a little worried," Nines said.

"Listen, Nines," Lucky paused in her work, "When Gavin deviants he will become something new and alive and that is a process and that process may or may not end up including you."

"I understand, it will be his choice and his alone," Nines replied honestly. Sure, if Gavin decided he didn't want to stay with Nines. He could live with it, but it would hurt for a while.

"You're a good human, Nines," Lucky gave him a private smile as she pointed to correct one of Nines movements.

"Thank you, Lucky."

Nines left several hours later with a dozen things of blue blood and a couple of biocomponents, namely a Thirium Regulator that was compatible with Gavin. He had learned so much and Lucky really appreciated all the work he helped her catch up on. They had exchanged phone numbers just in case he had an emergency, or Windy Blues needed an extra set of hands.


	7. Chapter 7:Sweet Thirium & Summer Weather

Nines had always liked his job, but he was liking it more and more every day now. He liked coming to work because he knew he would be in good company. Boy, he was crushing and the whole world couldn't stop him if they tried. Nines knew they would try to do just that. People weren't the best when it came to accepting things that were different, but the Anderson boys were never good at listening.

Now that Nines had learned the truth about the full capabilities of androids, he was more than happy to say fuck it to the norms.

Nines was bound determined to get Gavin and he had a plan. The whole process may take a while, but today things were lining up nicely. It was nearing the end of Nines' Friday night shift and Gavin was still here.

It was the beginning of a warm Saturday and waiting in his car was a nice lunch made for both an android and a human. Now all he had to do was actually find Gavin, which wasn't all that hard. He was dozing in his usual chair probably waiting for an update from the DPD or one of the doctors. Nines tried to not be too excited as he approached the android. He tapped the android's shoulder.

Gavin startled his eyes flew open and his LED cycled yellow a few times before it settled back to a calm blue. He gave Nines a small smile to cover up the fact that he had let the human scare him.

"Hey Gavin, would you come with me?" Nines sent Gavin a bright smile, one he currently saved only for the other. He made his tone light, trying to convey his mischievous intentions.

"Of course," Gavin stood up, his scowl softening a bit, "What's up, Nines?"

Nines made the universal follow me gesture. He kept grinning as he spoke, "Do you have to be back at the precinct anytime soon?"

"No? Should I be worried? Something exciting always seems to happen when you ask me that," Gavin continued to frown, but a curious smile was creeping onto his face.

"I only have enjoyable plans and ideas," Nines teased, and they had arrived at the room where Nines had one of his surprises hidden. He peeked around, the coast was clear. He flashed the android a playful grin and grabbed him and pulled him into the empty room.

"What the phck?" Gavin managed to croak out in surprise.

Nines smiled, he liked the way Gavin swore. It was so uniquely Gavin. The pronunciation was always a little off, but It was probably his social protocol blocking the correct use. Nines continued to smile despite himself and blatantly didn't explain anything to his android. He pulled Gavin to a stop and when the android opened his mouth to protest again and Nines put his finger to the android's lips.

Gavin looked insulted as he scrunched his eyebrows together and crossed his arms but stood quietly.

Nines turned around and went to where he had stashed a change of clothes for Gavin. He grabbed them and turned around a presented them to the android, "Here, I need you to change into this," Nines handed Gavin a black long sleeved shirt, a pair of dark blue jeans, and a brown leather jacket. Nines had taken an educated guess on the smaller man's measurements and went out and bought these garments. Hoping they would be the type Gavin would like, but right now Gavin was staring at them like they were going to burn him. Nines was a little unsure how to feel.

"It's illegal for androids to anywhere go without our identifiers exposed," Gavin said in a tone Nines could only describe as robotic. Nines rolled his eyes. All these laws were written by literal fucking Nazis. Who gave a fuck?

"Eh, frankly I don't give a fuck about that law or I wouldn't be giving you the clothes," Nines conveyed calculated annoyance, then he purposefully changed his tone, "Come on live a little, I won't tattle." Nines' smile turned into something a little molten.

Gavin's face flushed catching the change in the atmosphere.

"Okay, fine. I'll change," Gavin muttered and started to take off his clothes. A strip of his toned stomach was put on display as the police uniform was being pulled off.

Nines steeled his nerves and turned around. Gavin that motherfucker had probably done that on purpose, considering the fact he knew that Nines was attracted to him.

A few minutes later the rustling of clothing stopped, and Gavin spoke up again, "I'm out of my Cyberlife uniform. Happy?"

Nines turned around and felt the air leave his lungs. Happy was an understatement. Gavin was standing before him in a biker's outfit that was basically made for him. Except for his flashing LED Gavin looked perfectly human.

"You look fantastic, how do you like it?" Nines asked as he closed the space between them. Leaving only about six inches of space between them.

"I feel pretty good, I really like it," Gavin looked up, hopeful, "Can I keep these?"

Nines hadn't smiled this much in years. Gavin was one of the best things to happen to him.

"Of course, I bought these especially for you," Nines brushed his fingers across Gavin's LED, the touch was intimate. Nines felt color rise to his own cheeks, red contrasting blue. They stayed like that for several moments, until Nines couldn't trust himself not to act any further. He pulled his hand back and Gavin chased the movement ever so slightly. Nines pretended he didn't notice, "One last piece to make it all complete." Nines whispered as he placed a solid black ballcap on Gavin's head, effectively covering his LED.

Gavin messed with the cap for a moment, and then stuck his hands into the pockets of his new jacket, trying to hide his embarrassment, "Now, that I've changed what the point of all this?" Gavin inquired vaguely gesturing towards himself.

"I'd like to invite you to a picnic in the park," Nines said, sticking his hands into his scrub pockets.

"A picnic? With me disguised as a human," Gavin stated. Clearly confused then his mouth fell open, "You're asking me out on a date!"

"I am. What do you say?" Nines whispered and had to resist the urge to reach out to touch Gavin again.

Gavin was clearly trying to appear disinterested by looking out to his left and shrugged. Though the dark blue blush gave him away.

Nines could tell Gavin was thrilled. There had been a bit of build up to this event. They had gotten to know each other quite well. The android knew things about Nines that only his brothers knew. And few things that no one but Nines knew. They had spent so much time together, so many moments shared. With these thoughts running through his mind Nines was only succeeding to make himself more and more nervous.

"I mean, you've already got me dressed for the occasion so why the phck not?" Gavin said falsifying exasperation but he failed miserably as a smile overtook his blushing face.

Nines couldn't help the goofy grin that overtook his face, "Fantastic, would you be okay with waiting in my car while I go and change?"

"Of course not, show me the way." Nines obliged, grabbing Gavin's hand and quickly leading him out the nearest exit. No one had the chance to see them, which would have ended the possibility of a date in the park, but they would have been moved to the DPD or worse Cyberlife.

Nines' smile wasn't going to falter anytime soon, his plan was going perfectly. Gavin was uncharacteristically quiet as he followed behind him, but that probably had to do with the fact that he was too focused on their joined hands. Adorable.

"Here you go," Nines ushered as they arrived at his car and opened the door for Gavin.

"Thanks," Gavin muttered as he climbed in. "You look like a complete dipshit, Nines."

"Listen to you," Nines laughed it off, "I'll be back in few minutes. Here are my keys, if you would like to turn on the radio or something."

Gavin took the keys and nodded and he shut the door with a soft pull. He leaned back in the seat and closed his eyes.

Nines only hesitated for a moment longer before he turned back to the hospital. He made his way discreetly as he could to the ER employee room.

Nines changed his clothes, putting on something a little nicer than normal. Which was saying something considering he always held himself to a high standard in that regard. Then he attempted to do his hair. Which was honestly an attempt made in vain. His wavy and unruly cowlicks stayed stubbornly in place. He went unbothered until he was at his locker and was using his mirror to put in his favorite eyebrow barbell.

"You're sure getting fancied up. Anything special planned today?" Mike said from behind him.

Nines had to suppress a groan as he finished tightening up the purple ball, "Not particularly. Just putting this back in after my shift, like I always do," Nines' tone was strained, he tried to discourage conversation by continuing to get ready, turning to take out his contacts.

"Could have fooled me, you've been uncharacteristically giddy recently. Not to mention this getup is fancy even considering you're tasting. You find you a girl?" Mike was trying to sound casual as he went to open his own locker. Nines put his glasses on his face a directed a glare over the rims at the surgeon. Find a girl, what a laugh.

"Mike, I'm gay," Nines corrected him, wondering how in the hell he hadn't received the memo. Like what the fuck? This man was the biggest gossip hound in the hospital. He was even worse than Carol! And he had missed the goddamned memo about him being a raging homosexual? He had a fucking pride flag on his car for fuck's sake!

"No shit? Well, find you a guy then?" Mike took it in stride, well it wasn't the 2010s anymore.

Nines couldn't help but seethe, "You're not going to give it a rest, are you?"

"Nah, but I'm going to take your avoidance as a yes, so correct me if I'm wrong," Mike grinned.

"Fine, yes. I'm going on a date. Congratulations you guessed it. Now, if you'll excuse me I'm going to go so I'm not late," Nines drew out as he slammed his locker. Mike didn't even seem to notice, too giddy to care.

"Awesome, have a great time," Mike said as he finally wandered out of the employee room.

Nines rolled his eyes and took his leave. He couldn't believe that man. Every time he had a conversation with Mike, he wanted to stab a pencil into his ears. Or better yet stab the pencil into the surgeon's eyeball.

Nines was adjusting his turtleneck for the tenth time as he walked up towards his car. It seemed that Gavin had decided to turn the car on. Nines opened the driver side door and he was promptly blasted with music.

Nines couldn't help the grimaced that tugged at his lips, he really didn't like music. Especially not piercing, guitar-heavy, screaming rock music. He climbed in ignoring the disgust. He had said that Gavin could listen to the radio. But why grudge rock?

"About time you got here," Gavin said over the music, he was smiling and tapping his foot to the music, lightly bobbing his head.

Nines was suddenly mesmerized, forgetting his distaste in the music for a moment as he watched Gavin essentially dance in his seat. Gavin was acting more human than Nines was at this moment. How ironic.

"Ran into Mike," Nines knew that Gavin had the displeasure of also knowing the surgeon.

"Gross," Gavin muttered as he fiddled with his ballcap.

Nines hummed in response, finally reaching over and lowering the volume of the music to a tolerable level. Then he threw the car into gear.

"Let's get going before the weather gets too warm," Nines reached over and brushed his hand over Gavin's cheek simply because he could. Then just as quickly as he was focusing on the road, both hands on the wheel.

"Phcking Humans," Gavin muttered to himself and he propped his head on his elbow to look at the window. It could have easily been mistaken as pouting, but Nines knew better. The android was attempting to look casual as his whole face was tinted that beautiful blue.

They stayed that way until Nines stopped the car at the park that he had chosen for their date. Thankfully, it looked empty enough with only a few couples and families milling about. No one that would pay them any mind. He turned around to smile at Gavin.

"We're here," Nines turned the car off and opened his door, finally silencing the racket, "Come on, I have to get the cooler out of the trunk."

"Okay, I'm coming," Gavin called back as he fumbled with his seatbelt and basically rolled out of the car.

Nines raised an eyebrow at the scene as he walked to the back of the car. He was proud of the little picnic spread he had put together as he pulled out a small cooler and a blanket.

"Hey, Gav?" Nines called, and his android's eyebrows shot up into his hairline, and then and only then did Nines realize he just given the GV200 another nickname. He liked it, and Gavin didn't look displeased either.

"Yeah?" Gavin muttered as he walked up to him, face that lovely shade of blue again.

"Here you go," Nines handed Gavin the cooler and closed the truck, "Let's go find somewhere to set up."

Gavin rolled his eyes as he followed closely behind. They ended up picking a lightly shaded spot towards the pond in the center of the park. A very romantic setting or so Nines hoped.

"Doesn't this seem a bit excessive?" Gavin muttered as he spread out the blanket, "I mean why can't we just sit on the dirt?"

"Because I don't want to," Nines remarked, "Plus, this is the customary way to have a picnic, blanket, basket, eh, cooler, and food."

"I can't eat, Nines," Gavin said in that damn robotic tone. The one that made Nines think he was just reading off prewritten code. Something so un-Gavin like at this point it was disturbing to hear it again.

"Well, you can't eat normal food, but I brought something special for you," Nines grinned as he sat down, Gavin raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms, clearly not convinced, "Come on sit down and I'll get it out." Gavin just flopped down. Such a brat.

"Okay, what is this magical thing you brought that I could eat?" Gavin inquired as he got comfortable.

"Impatient, aren't we?"

"Yeah, not made to be patient," Gavin rolled his eyes and his hands were making grabby motions.

Nines gave him a deadpanned stare as he pulled out the bottle of thirium he had packed. Lucky had taught him that there was a way to flavor it slightly to keep things interesting. So, Nines was pretty excited to try it out.

Gavin eyed it with suspicion, "Take the damn bottle, Gavin, I'm not trying to kill you or anything."

"Yeah, yeah," the android muttered finally taking the bottle from Nines.

Nines couldn't help the fond smile that overtook his face. This bratty android had stolen his entire heart and there was no going back.

Gavin took the lid off and looked into the bottle with wide eyes. His eyebrows tried to disappear in his hairline again, "This is thirium, you got me thirium."

"Yeah, I did. Now, try it."

"Fine, but just for the record. My thirium levels are fine," Gavin said with a tone that did not match his face. His eyes were bright, and his face was dusted blue, he was pleased that Nines had done this for him. When he finally took a drink, his face drew up in shock, "This tastes really good? How did you make thirium taste... good?"

"It's a trick I learned from an android, thought you might enjoy it. So, I made it for you," Nines said as he turned to grab his own lunch.

"It's awesome! I didn't know you could do this, but thanks for it," Gavin mused. Then he tried hiding his smile behind the bottle. He was happily sipping at the treat.

"No problem, Gav," Nines said as he scooted closer to him and then started to eat his sandwich. They stayed in a peaceful silence as they finished their respective lunches.

Nines was enjoying the sounds of nature. This was a treat for him too, because he rarely if ever took a break from his hectic life to just enjoy things. Now he was here relaxing with his crush in the lovely May weather.

Things couldn't be more perfect. That was until all at once the calm was broken.


	8. Chapter 8: Sweet Child of Nines

"Uncka Nines!" Nines barely had time to react as something slammed into his side. He rolled over and when he finally had time to process what the fuck was going on he opened his eyes to see the culprit that had knocked him silly. His niece, Olivia.

"Olivia! What are you doing? Come back here!" Nines smiled up at his niece as he listened to Conrad as he hollered for her. Clearly unaware of who the little rascal had found.

"Well, hello Oliva. Having fun?" Nines hugged the 7-year-old as he sat up. He glanced at Gavin who looked absolutely terrified. His eyes wide and mouth slightly agape. Nines was sure that underneath his ballcap his LED would be spinning red. Not a good look on him.

"Yeah! Even more, now that I've found you!" She grinned as she hugged him back hard.

Nines was absolutely thrilled. He hadn't had a chance to see Olivia in a little over a month. He adored his nieces and nephew with his entire being. Her warm brown eyes, her freckles, and dark brown hair proved to Nines every time he saw her that things truly get better. They were just smiling at each other enjoying the surprise of seeing each other.

"Oliva! What the… Oh," Conrad said as he finally found them.

Nines rolled his eyes looking over the head of Olivia, to see his older brother jogging up to his little picnic, "Hey, you are the last person I thought I'd see here today," he greeted as he stood up, keeping Oliva wrapped in his arms. She wiggled happily and snuggled closer to him. Nines' heart sang, he still couldn't believe how sweet she was becoming.

"Same here. But hey for a second there I though Oliva had tackled a random stranger," Conrad let out a sigh and shook his head fondly.

"No, Dad you silly! I found Uncka Nines!" Olive said turning her head upside down to look at her dad.

"I see that You proud of yourself? You about killed him," Conrad scolded lightly.

Nines rolled his eyes as Oliva looked back up at him her eyes impossibility wide. Clearly believing her dad.

"I almost killed you!" She exclaimed.

"Of course not," Nines tapped her nose, "You'd have to try harder than that."

"Oh," She said flatly. He wasn't sure if what she was feeling, hopefully, she wouldn't take his advice the next time they saw each other.

"Oh my god. What the hell is going on with that girl?" Heather said from somewhere to Nines' left, "Oh, she found Nines. Here. Of all places."

He turned to look at his sister-in-law, who was carrying his nephew, Collins, and slightly behind her was his other niece, Kelly. The whole family was out today. Nines took the opportunity to glance back at Gavin, who no longer looked terrified, but was clearly very confused. Just holding his empty bottle waiting for the sky to fall or something equally as crazy.

"Hello, Heather. Nice to see you," Nines greeted as walked towards the rest of the family. Kelly's eyes widened, and she quickly ran towards him and jumped into his arms joining Olivia. Nines was contented holding both his little nieces on his hips.

"You not hiding out at your flat or in the hospital what has gotten into you?" She playfully jabbed at him, smiling at her daughters grinning at their uncle happily wrapping him up in their arms.

Nines gave her a crooked smiled as he jerked his head in the direction on Gavin.

Heather's gaze followed the motion and Nines watched as the realization dawned on her face. At first shock then the corner of her mouth crooked up.

"You're on a date," She stated her tone clearly displaying her disbelief.

"Yeah, I am. But I am more than happy to see you guys," Nines replied giving the girls he was holding a squeeze for emphasis. Kelly let out a soft squeal as she hugged him tighter in return.

Nines turned around to talk to Conrad to notice that he was currently about to engage Gavin. Fuck. Conrad wasn't as Bad as Connor when it came to meddling but he was still very, very good at. Nines felt a sense of odd dread when Nines released that if he and Gavin got serious there would be a time that Gavin would have to be in the same room with the twins at the same time.

Nines rolled his eyes at Conrad and the wide-eyed Gavin and he decided he was going to let whatever Conrad was going to do happen. Nines sat down at the picnic and happily turned his attention to his nieces. He started to chat with them about their little lives.

Heather smiled and took a seat next to Nines and put Collins on the ground next to Nines. She knew this was going to entertaining might as well have a front row seat.

Though Nines didn't let his attention on the small Anderson Children keep him from listening in to what Conrad and Gavin were talking about.

"Hey, sorry about that. Olivia is a wild one. When she bolted this way didn't expect her to find her Uncle and take him out all the while interrupting his date," Conrad explained to Gavin who was still staring wide-eyed at Conrad. When he finally spoke up, Nines finally understood Gavin's clear confusion.

"I wasn't aware you had children, Detective Anderson? Or that you were married for that matter," Gavin said glancing towards Nines, who couldn't help the laugh that escaped him.

Gavin thought Conrad was Connor. Though he wasn't the first and wasn't going to be the last.

When the laugh faded Nines felt a little confused Gavin knew about Conrad. Didn't he? Yeah, he did. Nines was certain that he'd talked about him at least in passing. But maybe he had missed the detail about Connor and Conrad being identical twins. Oops.

"Holy shit," Conrad laughed and turned towards Nines, "He's met Connor but not me? I'm hurt, Richard."

Nines felt his cheeks heat, because of the implication and the use of his first name. He felt scolded. Even though the only reason Gavin knew Connor was because they were both employed by the DPD, but it's not like he could tell him that. Nines knew it would get back to Connor and then it would be out that he was courting an android.

Gavin's eyebrows scrunched together further, still not able to put the pieces together.

"Well, if it makes you feel any better Connor has no idea about any of this," Nines said quickly. Though it was a definite lie, Connor knew about Gavin, and Gavin knew Connor. But didn't have enough of the truth to put the pieces together. It would be impressive even for Detective Connor Anderson to put together that the GV200 Police EMT was Gavin the EMT that Nines had a crush on. Though, it surprised Nines that Connor hadn't already called his twin and tattled about their little brother having a potential love interest.

"Uh, yeah. Sure," Conrad put his hand on his hip in clear disbelief.

Then before Nines could defend himself, Olivia bodily threw herself out of his hold. It knocked him off balance and Kelly made a noise of protest, sounding as disgruntled as a 4-year-old could. Nines shuffled back his balance and bounced Kelly to calm her. Conrad smiled, clearly knowing that his daughter was up to the best kind of mischief.

Nines felt his eyes widened as he realized what she was doing. She was charging Gavin. Oh, please don't knock off his hat.

Gavin stiffed and held on to his hat and prepare himself for impact. Surprisingly, Olivia politely took a seat next to him. Gavin smiled lightly at the small girl.

"Are you my Uncka's," Olivia paused and leaned in close, as if she was telling a secret, "boyfriend?"

Gavin's cheeks turned a light blue, but it was clear that he was training his reaction to the question, not wanting to give away the fact he was an android with something as simple as a blue blush.

Nines felt his own ears heat, they hadn't had that conversation yet, and here it was provoked by a nosy 7-year-old.

Gavin leaned in close, making a dramatic effort of looking around, Olivia who was absolutely enthralled with the display.

"You could say that," Gavin whispered into her ear and then Olivia let out a squeal.

Conrad was outwardly laughing now, clearly pleased with the adorable display.

Nines, on the other hand, felt his heart sore. He had no idea the weight of Gavin telling his niece that they were dating was. But his heart was currently taking it at face value.

"That's good," Olivia declared as she stood up and marched back over to where Nines and her mother were sitting and started to share the news with Collins and her mom.

Gavin just smiled as he watched her totter away. He looked up and glanced between Nines and Conrad. Then Gavin decided he needed to break the silence, "I'm just going to say it," He shook his head as his finally stood up, "I'm really phcking confused."

Nines opened his mouth to explain the whole situation, but Conrad beat him to it. As he did often.

"Well, you see," Conrad started but stopped abruptly, waving his hand in a frustrated motion, "I don't know your name. Nines you really suck at this."

"This is Gavin," Nines supplied helpfully, beating Gavin to whatever potentially rude thing he was going to say, given by the look on his face.

"Okay, Gavin. So, I'm assuming you've met our brother, Connor, and have to my great insult have confused me with him." Gavin's face continued to turn down into a more confused scowl. Conrad ignored it and stuck his hand out for Gavin to take, "I'm Conrad Seth Anderson. Connor's identical twin brother. Answer your questions?"

Gavin glanced between Conrad and Nines looking for confirmation, and Nines shrugged. Then out of nowhere, Gavin burst out laughing. The sound rough and hearty, but it was music to Nines' ears.

"Conrad! Okay, that makes sense! Nines never mentioned that you and Connor were twins!" Gavin looked relieved all the puzzle pieces falling into place.

"Aha! So, you do know of me!" Conrad declared triumphantly, "Glad to know that Turtleneck still talks about me."

"Yeah, he talks about both you of you quite a bit. Though he never mentioned the little ones. Man, I never would have guessed. I thought I had found the phcking twilight zone. Imagine Detective Anderson with kids," Gavin shuddered and finally took Conrad's hand and shook it. The movement a little robotic. But Conrad had no idea Gavin was an android. And Gavin seemed more and human every second that passed.

"Yeah, Connor having kids would be literal hell. He's a useless, dumpster fire who can barely care for himself, but man, do I love that asshole," Conrad elbowed Gavin playfully.

"Yeah, I can see that," Gavin muttered, clearly unsure of how to continue.

Nines decided he finally needed to intervene, "So," Nines said quietly, as Kelly had fallen asleep in his arms, "I'm glad you got to meet my boyfriend, even under such interesting circumstances. But it's nice to see you guys."

"You too, Nines. I'm glad you're finally dating again," Conrad threw a thumb towards Gavin, "Not to mention he's nice looking. I also appreciate the fact you managed to find a man that much shorter than you. Holy shit, what is he… A whole foot shorter than you?"

Gavin balked a little and aimed an annoyed look to Conrad, who was also a bit taller than the android.

Nines chuckled lowly, "I'm glad you pointed that out. I wouldn't have noticed." Nines smiled at Gavin trying to soften the blow, but he ended sounding a lot like sarcasm. Maybe it was.

Conrad laughed at that and turned around on his heel to look at Nines directly, "Well, it's been fantastic seeing you, but I'm going to let you get back your date while Olivia is still distracted. Let's make some plans to see each other again here soon."

"We should," Nines replied as he softly handed the still snoozing Kelly back to her dad, "But I'm still going to say goodbye to Olivia and give Collins a kiss." Conrad shrugged as he started towards Heather.

Nines gave a soft smile to Gavin as he turned towards his family. Olivia saw him and ran up to him again.

"Hey, Uncka Nines?"

"Yes, little miss?"

"You should come over sometime and play in the sand with me."

"Of course, I will."

"Okay, Promise?" She stuck her pinky out, asking for the ultimate promise.

Nines took it with his own pinky, "I promise."

"Good. Well Mom says we need to go home, and you need to get back to your boyfriend," She stated as she started to wiggle in his arms again.

Nines set her down, preventing her from vaulting down, "Yeah, I do. I love you, little miss," He gave her a hug.

Olivia grinned up at him, smile impossibly wide, "I love you too, Uncka Nines!" She declared as she pulled out of the hug.

Heather smiled as she joined Nines again, "You know, he's handsome, but you do seem to have a type," Heather mindlessly muttered as he handed Collins over to Nines.

The reminder and realization hit Nines like a freight train and he flinched. Bringing his up his ex was quite uncouth.

"I didn't notice," Nines said his tone flat as he bounced Collins around for a moment, making him giggle. Collins was still pretty young, not even two yet. So, Nines was content with the short visit. Not to mention Collins was deaf so there was only so much communication they could right now since they were both still learning sign language.

"Heh, didn't think so," Heather smiled as she took Collins back. Clearly oblivious to Nines newfound discomfort. "If things lift off okay with him, you should bring him over for dinner. He seems like he would be good with the kiddos."

Nines forced a breath out from between his teeth, effectively calming himself. He knew Heather didn't mean anything by those words, she was a nice woman.

"I will do so if it all works out. But hopefully I'll try to stop by before then," Nines made the promise lightly. He frowned slightly, he always made time for Connor. He really needed to start making time for Conrad and his family. He loved the kids so much but they were a little harder to please with short sporadic visits than their other uncle.

"That's good. Now, get out of here. We've interrupted your date enough," Heather said with a playful shove.

Nines rolled his eyes as he said his farewells to her. He walked up to where Conrad was corralling Olivia.

"It was nice to get to see you," Nines said to his brother and wrapped him into a hug.

"Yeah, you're a brat with you hiding out all the time, but I guess it's nice to see you too," Conrad grinned, crooked and cheeky.

"Yeah, yeah. See you soon. I've left Gavin waiting long enough," Nines said with a playfully dismissive wave.

Then he was finally walking back to his abandoned picnic and date. He sat down and smiled sheepishly at Gavin, who honestly still looked a little flabbergasted.

"Well, you have now met Conrad and his family," Nines supplied into the silence. He glanced over his shoulder to throw one more wave in their direction as they walked in the opposite direction. Earning one last wave from Olivia.

"It seems so," Gavin started to stretch, but quickly aborted the motion with a quirked eyebrow, "Conrad really does look like Connor, but upon further investigation, I've noted he has fewer freckles and moles and is a significantly healthier state than his twin."

"Sounds about right, also Connor is a tad shorter," Nines added.

Gavin chuckled while messing with his hat, "I had that ranked in the healthier area."

"Fair enough," Nines muttered.

Nines found it endearing as he watched for a moment. Then he remembered the comment Gavin had made to Olivia. He had to ask.

"Did you mean anything by what you said to Olivia?" Nines asked, trying to sound casual, but his voice showed his interest anyway. Not to mention he probably had red cheeks.

Gavin's face flushed, "I think so," He said cryptically, staring down at the ground as if it had all the answers, "I'm not really sure how any of this stuff works. I'm not supposed to feel anything, and yet all my biocomponents are warm and filled with instabilities. I'm not supposed to want anything, but here I am, wanting nothing more than, to hope, you feel the same way? It's all a big phcking mess up in my CPU and I don't even know where to start." His eyes looked glassy and they were so sincere as he locked eyes with Nines.

Nines couldn't believe what he had just heard. But the disbelief could wait. Nines couldn't stand how upset Gavin looked and all over something as small as having feelings and wants. But Nines also knew those things were a huge deal to someone who wasn't programmed to have them. He'd lived with and around Connor for 26 years after all.

"Gavin," Nines started sort of unsure of what to say, "I really do mean it when I say I like you as much as I do." Gavin frowned, and Nines was suddenly very insecure about where this was going.

"That makes me happy?" Gavin said slowly a smile finally overtaking his face. Then without thinking anymore Nines reached forward and took that smiling face into his hands. Relished in the texture of the android's artificial stubble and soft skin.

Gavin leaned into the touch and that was it.

Nines leaned forward and connected their lips. The kiss was light and barely there as Nines pulled back. Smiling despite himself, his heart was going a million miles a minute. There was a nasty mess of butterflies in his stomach.

Gavin's face had gone completely slack and his LED was spinning a worrisome yellow from where it peaked from under his hat.

Oh, shit was he broken? Nines thought in a panic.

Neither of them reacted for several moments until all at once Gavin burst into motion. Slamming himself bodily into Nines, who in turn let out a grunt. They fell to the ground knocking over some of the picnic supplies in the process.

Nines feared for a brief moment that Gavin was going to kill him or something crazy until he felt strong arms wrap around his shoulders.

Nines rolled his eyes as he wrapped his own arms around Gavin. Letting out a nervous breath he hadn't been aware he was holding. They laid on the ground for several minutes just wrapped in each other's embrace.

"How does an android even go about dating a human?" Gavin said breaking the silence and burying his face into Nines' neck.

Nines pulled them both up into a sitting position, the smaller man shifted so he could keep his face hidden. Though Nines could still see that the other's ears were tinted blue.

"I don't know," Nines said quietly, "But I'm guessing we could try to figure it out?"

Gavin pulled away and looked Nines directly into his eyes. A small smile gracing his lips. Then he reached out and touched Nines' face, mimicking what the larger man had done just a few minutes ago.

The touch was so tender that Nines' breath caught in his throat.

"I think I'd like to," Gavin finally said as he pulled Nines into a kiss. This time it lasted a little longer and their lips moved softly together, still gracing something chaste.

Nines was over the moon. This was everything he'd been dreaming of for the last month. They stared into each other's eyes, enjoying the perfection of this moment.

Gavin spoke first, "Ya know, thanks for inviting me out. I'm… excited? To see where this could lead."

Nines planted another small kiss onto Gavin's smiling mouth, "Me too."


	9. Chapter 9: Shacking Up

Nines was looking down at a patient's clipboard, noting the changes in her status. The girl Gavin had brought in had finally stabilized enough to talk to. She had come out of her medically induced coma yesterday morning.

Nines knew what conversation he was going to be having. According to her paperwork, the hospital had been unable to find and contact her parents or guardians. He was ready for the potential, 'do you have a home' conversation.

It wouldn't be the first time and it won't be the last. Heaven knows the other nurses and doctors pawn this specific task onto Nines. He's good at it. Not to mention the kids relate to him since he doesn't have his parents either. Detroit wasn't the best city, kids were left alone, parents didn't care, or there was simply no one left. Nines understood that better than most of the people that he worked with. He was well informed by his life experiences and by the stories Conrad and Connor told him about what they encountered at work.

Nines placed his hand on the doorknob and took a deep breath and finally pushed open the door. The young girl was quietly watching TV when Nines first entered the room. Though, her attention quickly shifted to him as the door clicked shut behind him. She was starting to look much better, most of the severe bruising had faded and the amount of tape and gauze on her was dwindling. Her skin was still a patchy red and she had casts on both her legs and her left arm.

"Hello, Hannah," Nines smiled warmly at her, "I'm Nurse Richard Anderson, but you can call me Nines." She looked at him curiously as he grabbed one of the chairs and pulled it to the end of her bed and sat in it backward.

"How do you get Nines out of Richard? Why don't you just go by Dick?" Hannah asked, her voice scratchy from disuse, but her eyes sparkled with humor.

Nines made a show out of rolling his eyes, but he still chuckled. She thought she was so clever and if she was making jokes, she was at least recovering to some degree mentally. Though her very reasoning was why he had found another nickname. He hated being called Dick. Who didn't?

"I really don't like being called Richard or Dick for that matter. So, I needed to come up with a creative nickname. My middle name is Niles, but that doesn't quite roll off the tongue. So, I marked it off the list. But Nines, in the end, came from my brothers. They were big on spy movies, so we were playing a secret agent game and we had to come up with code names. We came up with 51, 60, and 900. Mine was 900. We kept those code names for a long time, but mine was eventually shortened to Nines and it's stuck ever since." Nines told her, almost in autopilot considering the number of times he had told that story before.

"That's cute, name fits you well," Hannah said after much thought.

"Thank you," Nines smiled, but knew he needed to talk to her about what he came in here for, "So, Hannah. How are you feeling?"

The sparkle Hannah had in her eyes disappeared as she let her head roll back onto the pillow to stare up at the ceiling, "I'm alive, but I'm not sure if I'm happy about that yet or not, Doc Nines," She droned out, but at least the words felt honest.

"We'll simply stick with 'alive,' then?" Nines smiled back at her and waved his pen around for emphasis.

"Yeah, my status is alive."

Nines felt those words twinge somewhere inside his chest. This part never got easier, "Fair enough," Nines swallowed, "So Hannah, we haven't been able to find anything about your legal guardians. Is there anyone you need us to contact?"

"No," She spat the word out, and looked directly into Nines' eyes, "Fam's all dead, have been for a while. Been being looked after by Eri- the family android since my folks finally kicked the bucket." She blinked rapidly, trying to ward away the tears. "He was all I had, and he took really good care of me. But then he got broken. I had nothing left after that."

The explanation for no family and to her attempted suicide were all contained in those three sentences. Nines moved his chair a little closer to her and he handed her a box of tissues. Giving her a small reassuring smile.

Hannah took the tissues appreciatively. They stayed in a soft silence as she let tears escape her eyes quietly. When she was finally able to calm down, she gave Nines the tissues back.

"Hey, Hannah?" Nines asked.

Hannah grunted as her response.

Nines took that as permission to continue, "I'm sorry to hear about your family and your android. We're going to get you somewhere safe, but for right now we need you here for a few more days, is that okay?"

"Yeah, that's fine," Hannah's tone was bitter, but it was more tired than anything else, "Can I ask you a question?"

"Anything, shoot," Nines said automatically.

"Can I thank the android that saved me?" She asked.

The question caught Nines completely off guard. Gavin would honestly be thrilled to talk to the girl, he'd been worried about her.

"I'm sorry if that's weird, or if you can't do it that's fine, too," she added in a hurry, misunderstanding Nines' surprise.

"You can absolutely speak with the GV200, his name is Gavin. I'll just need to give him a call," Nines replied quickly, letting the girl have her wish. Nines had a sneaking suspicion that the android that cared for her was deviant, which made this all the more sad.

"Thanks," Hannah leaned back into her pillow, "One more question. Am I going to become a ward of the state?"

"There is a possibility," Nines sighed, "But right now, you worry about getting better, okay? We'll cross that bridge when we get there," Nines smiled as he pulled out his cell phone, he had Gavin's contact saved for a while, but dialing this time felt odd. "I'll be back in just a few minutes with Gavin."

"Okay, thanks," Hannah gave a small smile. But Nines' could tell she was thrilled. She probably expected a 'no' as his response.

Nines waved his way off. Once he was on the other side of the door he was greeted by another nurse.

"What's the status on her guardians?" She said, straight to the point.

"She doesn't know," Nines said as he put the chart back into its plastic bin.

"Of course, she doesn't. I'll start contacting the correct authorities, right after I check on her," She mumbled as she grabbed the charts and walked into Hannah's room.

Nines groaned as he dialed Gavin. He had no idea why he was compelled to lie, but he did.

Gavin picked up on the first ring, but then again it must be hard to ignore the phone inside of his head, "Hey, Nines. What's up?" Gavin's tone was soft, a voice he saved only for Nines.

"Hey, Gav. You remember the girl you brought in a while ago?" Nines asked quickly hoping he didn't have to elaborate.

There was a pause, "Yeah, she's okay, right?" Gavin's tone was worried.

Oh, Gavin thought Nines was delivering the worst news.

"Of course, she woke up yesterday. I went in to talk to her, and she asked if she could tell you thank you for saving her," Nines said quietly. He wasn't sure if he could technically do this, but who was going to stop him?

"She wants to thank the android who saved her?" Gavin parroted, clearly not believing him.

"Yeah. After the last person in her family passed, she was being taken care of by her family's android. Or at least she was until he was broken," Nines mumbled, keeping his voice down. Nines knew personally that people really could care about androids. But those people were definitely in the minority.

"Okay, I'll come to see her, be there in a few minutes. I'll have to drive, but I'm already on the road, so it shouldn't be too long," Gavin rambled.

"Okay. Give me a call when you get here. She's in 203, I'll meet you at the door," Nines informed.

"Okay, Nines. See you soon," There was a pause, but before Nines could say his own goodbyes, Gavin spoke again, "I miss you."

Nines couldn't help the blush that lit up his cheeks and that quickly spread to his ears and neck. God, he was so far gone.

"I miss you too, Gavin. I'll see you in a few," Nines said his voice shaking despite his best efforts to keep it level. Wow.

"Okay, bye." And with that, the line went dead.

Nines slowly pulled the phone from his ear and pocketed it. He then tried to wipe the color from his face.

"You know, you should take personal calls in the break room," A voice called from behind him, and in the most un-Nines like the way he jumped.

"Jesus Carol! You scared the hell out of me," Nines muttered as he turned around to see his Co-head nurse.

Carol tried to keep her face turned down but he could see her lips twitching, "That's a first!" She said finally snickering, "Who the hell has you morphing into a tomato?"

"Excuse me?" Nines croaked out, scandalized.

Carol continued to snicker as she put her hand on the small of his back, guiding them to the aforementioned breakroom.

Nines frowned as he let himself be led away. He knew he was going to get a brief talking to. But it seemed only fair since he had given Carol this same talk before.

"You heard me," Carol spoke as they turned the corner and then walked into the breakroom.

"Yeah, doesn't make my surprise any less prudent," Nines basically growled.

"You're surprised? What about me? The last thing I expected was seeing you standing off to the side of a hallway all red-faced and whispering into a phone," Carol crossed her arms, "it's out of character and not to mention against protocol."

"Against protocol? That was a business call," Nines let the words fall out in an effort to defend himself, not understanding the implications of what he said until he seen Carol's eyes widen into saucers.

"Oh, fuck no," Carol gasped, "You better not be shacking up with another one of the nurses!"

Nines stiffened. He did not intend to walk into this, "I'm not 'shacking up' with anyone!" Nines' voice betrayed him as it cracked.

Carol was eating this up, and Nines frankly hated it. It's not like he could be honest with her anyway. Gavin would be deactivated, and Nines would probably lose his job and maybe even go to jail. Though, Connor would get a kick out of that one.

For the first time since he kissed Gavin just last Saturday, he felt that telltale fear prickling under his skin. He felt like he needed to throw up. He knew this would be a problem, but he didn't expect it to happen so soon. Goddamnit.

Carol's face softened ever so slightly, clearly noticing Nines' barely contained panic.

"What the hell is up with you, Richard? And I'm going to need the whole story because you know I'm not a complete bitch and if you tell me what's really going on between you and this mystery man that apparently works here, I could possibly overlook it. You know, like that one time you did that for me.

If Nines was being completely honest with himself, Carol and him were friends and got along quite nicely. They'd been working as the head nurses for the last two years. She was a little older than him, and honestly wasn't nearly as high strung as himself. But Nines knew well enough he had to keep his secret to himself. Now, he just had to fabricate a lie, one that would stick.

"Uh? He's not a nurse," Was all Nines managed to supply, which wasn't even a lie, technically.

"Well, then I can let this slip, on a professional level at least. I only care if you're trying to get with one of our underlings," Carol sighed, Nines wasn't sure if it was from frustration or relief, "I figured you wouldn't do that. If the sentiment counts for anything."

"Yeah, it does," Nines sighed heavily, running a hand down his face, "I thought you were going to write me up."

Carol rolled her eyes, and released a halfhearted laugh, "Honestly, even if I did no one would take it seriously. Come on, who would believe that the stoic, all business Head Nurse Richard "Nines" Anderson would be sleeping with someone working here? I'd would have had caught you naked in a broom closet and have photographic evidence to get anywhere with it," Carol said and then started snickering, at the sheer mortified look on Nines' face.

"Listen, Carol, please, don't let this get around," Nines placed his hands lightly on her shoulders to emphasize how much he needed her to respect this.

"Oh hell, you've got it bad," Carol looked at him directly, "I'm taking an informed shot into the dark, but I'm guessing you've not even acted on this, have you?"

Nines looked away and decided to take that as his lie. He was just fawning after someone. That would a be an easy one to follow through with, "Yeah, sorry I…" Nines was going to fabricate a story, but at that moment his phone decided to ring. Nines fumbled for it. Gavin. He must have arrived. "It's important. I have to take this," Nines informed as he pressed the accept button.

"Anderson," Nines said into the receiver, trying to not sound too formal, but failing miserably.

"Nines? Are you okay? I'm up at the room, 203, correct?" Gavin's voice came over the receiver softly.

"I'm fine. Be up there in a moment, bye" Nines said quickly as he clicked the end call button. He looked over his shoulder to see if Carol had followed him. She hadn't, "Thank god," Nines whispered.

Gavin was standing by Hannah's room twiddling his thumbs. He looked a little downcast, which was strange on the normally scowling android.

"Hello, Gavin," Nines greeted, letting the smile he reserved for Gavin return. The relief that washed across the android's face was a breath of fresh air.

"Hey, Nines," Gavin grinned back, "I'm here to meet the girl I saved, Hannah, if I remember correctly, which I do."

Nines chuckled as he grabbed her charts from the plastic bin. Hannah wasn't due for another check in for another hour it seemed. Perfect.

"I'm glad. Let me go in ahead of you and let her know you're here," Nines stated as he grabbed the door handle but paused for a moment, "Hey, Gav. I have a favor to ask of you."

"What's that?" Gavin asked as he looked up at his human.

Nines glanced around and leaned in close to Gavin's ear.

Gavin's eyes widened ever so slightly, and a blush graced his cheeks.

"See if you can find out what happened to her android and where he could be," Nines asked in a whisper and as soon as the words left his mouth he stood up straight.

Gavin didn't respond for a second, then he blinked once and nodded, "I can do that," Gavin answered with his usual confidence.

"Thank you," Nines beamed down at him, "Let me go in ahead of you, okay?"

"Sure," Gavin replied with another nod. Then Nines opened the door to Hannah's room.

"Hey, Hannah. I've brought you a visitor," Nines beamed in her direction. He felt a burst of pride in his chest for his android. He turned to the door briefly and waved Gavin in, who looked slightly bashful under his default android expression.

"Oh! You really did come to see me. You're the android that saved me!" Hannah exclaimed as she pointed in their direction.

Nines tried to look disinterested as he walked over to check the various medical equipment in the room.

"Yup, that's me," Gavin said, "I'm the EMT police prototype GV200. My name is Gavin."

"Nice, I'm Hannah. I know it may be weird, but I wanted to thank you for saving me," Hannah said her voice strained, attempting to hide the number of emotions filling her.

Nines was jotting down her vitals as his phone went off. He pulled it out of his pocket. EMERGENCY, the screen declared loudly. He was needed back in the trauma unit. With that, he was bolting out the door without a word leaving his android with the human he had saved. Sometimes Gavin made him forget the urgency of working in an Emergency Room.


End file.
